Florida salvage company to explore British wreck

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A British maritime charity says that a Florida-based deep-sea salvage company will help explore the wreck of the renowned 18th-century warship it discovered at the bottom of the English Channel four years ago.

The newly established Maritime Heritage Foundation said Monday that Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. plans to scan the wreck of the HMS Victory with a robotic submersible with an eye toward answering questions such as why the ship sank beneath the waves and whether it carried any treasure.

The HMS Victory was among the most powerful vessels in the Royal Navy when a storm separated it from a fleet of warships returning home from Portugal in 1744.

Odyssey Marine believes that there could be as many as four tons of gold coins aboard the wreck.